Clutch.



No. 731,303; I PATENTED JUNE 16, 1903.

1 A. HOUGHTALING.

CLUTCH;

APPLICATION TILED MAR. 21, 1903.

110 MODEL.

NITED STATES Patented June 16, 1903.

FFICE.

PATENT CLUTCH.

. E IC ION forming part of Letters Patent No. 731,303, dated June 16,1903. Application filed March 21, I903. $erial No. 148,897. (No model.)

To CLZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL A. HOUGHTALING,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident necting element, commonlya ratchet, shall be held out of engagement with its coacting part, withthe result that the clutch is noiseless when operated in theabove-described manner. It is further desired to provide a device fortransmitting power from a driving to a driven member which shall besimple in construction and reliable in operation.

The above objects I attain as hereinafter set forth, reference beinghadto the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective viewof one of the members of my improved clutch. Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview of the other member of the clutch. Fig. 3 is a perspective view ofone form of ratchet, which in the present instance is the element bywhich the two members shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are operatively connected;and Fig. 4 is the piece by which the ratchet shown in Fig. 3 is retainedin an elevated position when one of the members of the clutch is movedrelatively to the other.

In the above drawings and in the following description I have shownmyimproved clutch as designed to be applied to a hand-operated brake,though it will be understood that the invention may be applied to anydevice in whichpower is to be transmitted from one member or device toanother movable relativelythereto.

Referring to Fig. 2, A represents a cylin= drical casing open at the topand having extending vertically through it a spindle B, attached to anydesired form of mechanism or device and either formed integral with saidcasing or fastened rigidly to it in any desired manner. Projecting fromthe bottom of the casing in a plane substantially at right angles to theaxis of the spindle and extending from the spindle to the wall of thecasing A are a series of ratchet-teeth a, said teeth being preferably,although not necessarily, formed integral with or as a part of theeasing A. A ratchet-piece D has toothed portions (1, designed to actupon and engage the teeth 0., these portions being connected to andoperatively supported by a ring (1, through which passes the spindle B.It will be noted that these toothed sections are beveled to correspondwith the bevel of the ratchet-teeth and have front faces 61 slightlyinclined to the axis of the spindle and rear faces which in the presentinstance are substantially radial to said axis.

The second member of the clutch is shown at O and maybe described asconsisting of a plate 0, attached in any desired manner to a drivingdevice or mechanism and having on its face a series of projections c ofthe same number as the teeth d and provided with flat faces, of whichthose designated by c are inclined to coact with the inclined faces 01of the ratchet-teeth all It will be noted that the segmental spacesbetween the individual projections c are greater than the angular widthof the toothed portions fitting thereinto, and there are blocks 6fitting these spaces, respectively, so as to completely occupy thevacancies between the tooth portions and the projections 0'. Theseblocks are carried on a plate E, freely revoluble on the spindle B and.having portions of its body cut away for the passage of teeth d. p

The various parts described above are so designed that the plate E, withits blocks e, fits easily within the casing A, so as to be free to turn,and rests normally upon the upper edges of the teeth a. Theratchet-piece D is made with its tooth-sections d of such proportionsthat they freely pass through the cut-out portions 6 of the plate E andare movable vertically between the blocks a on said plate and theprojections c belonging to the member 0.

In operation both'ratchet-piece Dand plate E are completely inclosedwithin the casing A, of which the plate 0 forms the cover, and

the tooth-sections d are held by gravity in engagement with the teeth a.When now the member 0 is turned on its vertical axis in the direction ofthe hands on a watch, each of the projections 0' engages one of theblocks e, which in turn pushes against the vertical faces of one of theteeth cl, causing its sharp edge to engage and hold to one of the teetha of the part A, thus operatively connecting the member 0 with themember A.

It will be understood that the number of the teeth d and of the partscoacting therewith may be varied according to thepower to betransmitted, and in the presentinstance I have illustrated a clutchhaving three such toot h-sections. When motion of the member 0 isretarded, stopped, or reversed, each of the projections 0 immediatelybears against the front inclined face of a tooth d, and as this is movedbackward relatively to the teeth a it will naturally ride upon thebeveled surface thereof and be caused to move parallel with the spindleB. It will be seen, however, at the same time that the toothed portionsd are moved backward the blocks 6, which are engaged by the rear facesthereof, are also caused to revolve, and since there is more or lessfriction or opposition to the revolution of the plate E, which carriessaid blocks, the toothed portions 61 are gripped between the projectionsc and said blocks 6, so that when they have once been raised to a heightsufficient to enable their sharp edge to pass the edge of one of theteeth a they will be held from returning to their normal position untilrelative motion of the two members of the clutch has ceased, suchholding being materially assisted by the use of the inclined surfaces .0and d of the projections c and the tooth sections (1, respectively. Withsuch construction there is consequently none of the objectionablechattering of the toothed sections or pawls over the ratchetteeth a, andthe clutch will operate noiselessly when turned backward or when therelative speeds of its members are varied.

While I have illustrated my improved clutch in a form suitable for usein connection with ahand-brake, it will be understood that it isapplicable to any device in which a clutch may be employed, beingparticularly desirable where it is wished to retain the ratchet orconnecting member out of engagement with the teeth while one of itsmembers is moved at a different speed from the other.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination inaclutch, of two members,one of which is provided with teeth, an element for operativelyconnecting said two members at will and constructed to engage saidteeth, with means independent of said parts for automatically andpositively holding said connecting element out of contact with the teethof the toothed member, when said two members of the device are turned atdifferent speeds, substantially as described.

2. The combinationinaclutch, oftwo members, a ratchet on one of thesame, a movable pawl member constructed to engage the ratchet and freeto move away from said teeth, said pawl member having means constructedto operate against the action of gravity as long as the relative speedsof the two clutch members are different, for retaining it out of contactwith the teeth, substantially as described. j

3. The combination in a clutch of two members, one of the same havingteeth lying in a plane substantially at right angles to its axis ofrevolution, a pawl member constructed to connect said two members andfree to move parallel to the axis of revolution thereof, with means forengaging said pawl member and constructed to positively hold it out ofengagement with the teeth when one of the members otthe clutch is turnedat a rate different from that of the other, substantially as described.

4. The combination in a clutch, oftwo members, a pawl for operativelyconnecting said two members and operatively connected with the secondmember so as to turn with the same while being free to move toward andfrom the first member, and a device for automatically clamping the pawlmember to the second member of the clutch whenever the clutch membersturn at different speeds, substantially as described.

5. The combination in a clutch, of two members, a movable block, a pawlmember constructed to engage said first clutch member, and means on thesecond clutch member constructed to coact with said block to retain thepawl member'out of engagement with the first member as long as the twomembers of the clutch are moved at difierent speeds, substantially asdescribed.

6. The combination in a clutch, of two members, one of which is providedwith a series of teeth and the other has a projecting portion, a pawlmember movable toward and from one of said clutch members and situatedbetween the same, with a plate carrying a block placed to engage thepawl member and hold it clamped against the projection of the secondmember of the clutch as long as the two members thereof turn atdifferent speeds, substantially as described;

7. The combination in a clutch, of two members, a piece separate fromsaid members and free to revolve around the axis of said clutch, meansfor retarding such revolution, a pawl constructed to engage one clutchmember and having a surface designed to coact with said piece, thesecond clutch member having means for engagement with the pawl memberand coacting with the revoluble piece to retain said pawl member out ofengagement with the first member of the clutch when said clutch membersturn at difierent speeds, substantially as described.

8. The combination in a clutch, of two members, one of the same havingteeth, a pawl member and a plate supported between said two members,said plate and one of the members of theclutch having coacting means forretaining the pawl member in an elevated position out of engagement withthe teeth under certain conditions of operation of said device,substantially as described.

9. The combination in a clutch, of a substantially cylindrical casingsupported so as to be free to turn on its axis, a series of teeth withinthe casing, a second member having a portion designed to cover saidcasing and provided with a projecting part, a pawl member engaging saidprojecting part and designed to connect said two members, with a blockrevolubly supported within the casing upon the teeth for retaining thepawl member in an elevated position, and out of contact with said teethwhen the two members are turned at difierent speeds, substantially asdescribed.

10. The combination in a clutch, of two members, one of the same havingteeth, a pawl member and a plate supported between said two members,said plate and one of the members of the clutch having coacting portionsfor retaining the pawl member in an elevated position out of engagementwith the PAUL A. HOUGHTALING.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM E. BRADLEY, Jos. H. KLEIN.

